EC Support

What is Electronic Conveyancing?

Electronic Conveyancing (EC) is a world-first online settlement and lodgement system developed by the Victorian Government in collaboration with the conveyancing industry. EC eliminates the need for paper-based settlements, drawing cheques and meeting to exchange documents on settlement day. In the EC system, vendors and purchasers engage registered Subscribers to act on their behalf. The Subscriber uses the online EC system on behalf of their clients to settle land transactions - including the payment of duty to the relevant state tax or revenue office - and lodge documents electronically from their personal computers.

Benefits of using EC

Buyers and sellers of property can reduce the cost of their transaction by using EC.

• Estimated savings of $235-$395 per typical four party settlement
• Estimated $70M p/a in annual industry and community savings by 2012
• Lower statutory fees than those charged under the paper system
• Improved housing affordability
• Removal of physical settlement and manual lodgement processes
• Substitution of bank cheques with multi-lateral electronic funds transfers
• Elimination of most paper documents and associated red tape
• Greater certainty - reduced incidence of delayed and failed property settlements and lost or incorrect documentation
  
  

EC is designed to be as safe as the existing paper-based conveyancing and lodgement system, which will continue to operate alongside Electronic Conveyancing for those who wish to continue to transact in paper.

EC Subscribers

For a property transaction to be processed through the EC system, all parties must be EC Subscribers. These parties are typically an incoming mortgagee, an outgoing mortgagee (both financial institutions), and the vendor’s and purchaser’s representatives (solicitors or conveyancers). The vendor and purchaser do not subscribe to EC, but engage the services of an EC Subscriber. Subscribers will require consent from their clients in the form of a signed Representation Agreement to process a transaction through the EC system.

To find a current Subscriber, refer to the EC Subscriber List.

Who can Subscribe?

• Financial Institutions
• Conveyancers
• Solicitors
• Individuals - provided they meet the minimum requirements. See Fact Sheet - Becoming a Subscriber.
  
  

What does EC provide to Subscribers?

• A safe, secure and auditable mechanism for settlement funds transfer
• Pre-settlement validation of the Registrar's instruments
• Settlement and lodgement in one continuous process
  
  

Instruments that can be processed using EC

• Discharge of Mortgage
• Mortgage
• Transfer alone
• Withdrawal of Caveat (cannot be stand alone)
• Various combinations of the above (eg: D-T-M)
• New Caveat (must be stand alone)
  
  

The EC system allows electronic financial property settlement, the lodgement of the above Instruments into Land Victoria and the electronic payment of duty to the relevant state tax or revenue office.

Payment of duty and land tax

• Submission of Stamp Duty, Land Tax and other important information to the relevant state tax or revenue office. In Victoria this is the State Revenue Office (SRO).
• Collection of duty and outstanding land tax as part of settlement
• Self assessment
• Delivery of duty and change of ownership information as part of settlement